The husband of a young B.C. mother missing for more than a month was once charged with assaulting and threatening her, CTV News has learned.
Yating (Lancy) Hu, 27, was last seen leaving her Coquitlam home on July 16, but her husband didn't report her missing until two days later.
Her estranged husband, software designer Zhongming Mou, was charged with assault and uttering threats against his wife in 2006, but those charges were stayed.
Police say that Mou has changed his story since Hu disappeared. He first indicated that he'd last seen her in Burnaby on July 15, but later acknowledged he saw her the next morning.
"It is a concern that he is now changing his story. That's something investigators are looking into," said Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
CTV News has been unable to reach Mou, but his father says he is praying for his daughter-in-law's safe return.
Investigators believe that Hu has met with foul play.
"She's not just deemed a missing person at this point. There is something suspicious about it," Pound said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the disappearance.
Hu's parents have flown over from China to help with the search, and made a tearful plea for information Wednesday.
Her father Hu Mu Ming is a police officer in China, and he told reporters through an interpreter that he fears she has been killed because she would never leave her two young children. The family says Hu and her husband are separated.
Hu does not have a vehicle and often uses public transportation. She is described as 5-7 tall, 119 pounds with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She speaks English and Mandarin.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro
